People's Brewing Company to release brew in honor of women

Jessica Johnson, from left, Sara Gertsch and Steph Silva enjoy a pint of Rosie the RIPA, a red India Pale Ale, Thursday, May 17, 2018, at People's Brewing Company, 2006 N. 9th Street in Lafayette. The women brewed the IPA in honor of International Women's Day. The beer will be available at 3 p.m. Saturday in People's tap room.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)Buy Photo

People's Brewing Company will host a release party on Saturday for a beer brewed specially on March 8, International Women's Day, by the female employees of the brewing company.

The red India pale ale dubbed "Rosie the RIPA" was brewed with input from all of the women who work for People's Brewing Company in Lafayette and the Revel Room, People's Lebanon location, People's taproom coordinator Sara Gertsch said.

The idea behind the event was inspired from Gertsch's hometown in Wyoming, where each year the local breweries' female employees would get together and create a collaborative brew.

"Coming here, there really wasn't anything like that," Gertsch said. "We have quite a few women that work for us, I would think more than average for a brewery standard, so why not get everyone together and do this?"

Gertsch said she went to every female working for the brewery and asked for their top three ideas, which resulted in the red IPA.

Steph Silva, People's operations coordinator, said Gertsch's enthusiasm for the concept of a female brew was what drove her excitement through the process as well.

The original concept behind a women's brew day was born from the Pink Boots Society, a nonprofit created to assist, inspire and encourage women beer industry professionals to advance their careers through education, Silva and Gertsch said.

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A pint of Rosie the RIPA, a red India Pale Ale, Thursday, May 17, 2018, at People's Brewing Company, 2006 N. 9th Street in Lafayette. Jessica Johnson, Sara Gertsch and Steph Silva brewed the IPA in honor of International Women's Day. The beer will be available at 3 p.m. Saturday in People's tap room.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Gertsch said many of the brewery's female employees are "hop heads" who enjoy the hoppier beers, so an IPA, as well as the powerful red color, seemed fitting for the big brew.

"So then it came to the naming, and we were brainstorming, and Rosie was just perfect," she said. "Rosie the RIPA is just kind of a play on Rosie the Riveter."

A few tributes were paid during the brewing process of Rosie the RIPA, one being to the brewery's former feline resident.

"A lot of breweries have a cat that works as a mouser because there are a lot of grains back there," People's co-owner Jessica Johnson said.

People's first brewery cat, Simcoe, was rescued by Silva as a feral kitten.

"She was named after the hops, Simcoe, and so there are a lot of Simcoe hops in the Rosie the RIPA as a tribute to her," Gertsch said.

Sara Gertsch, left, and Jessica Johnson, right, weight hops to be used to brew the "Rosie the RIPA" beer on International Women's Day.(Photo: Provided by Rodney McPhail)

Another small tribute paid during the brewing process was to Johnson's husband and co-owner of People's Brewing Company, Chris Johnson.

"Chris bought us all roses on the day we brewed the beer, so as a little tribute to him, we took some of those rose petals and included them in the mash," Jessica Johnson said.

Saturday's event, however, is all about supporting local women, Silva said. Local female artists will sell t-shirts, pottery and other items with proceeds going towards the Younger Women's Task Force of Greater Lafayette. A portion of the sales from Rosie the RIPA will go to the task force as well.

"There will be free appetizers from 3-5 p.m. by The Trails, and then there will be the RTB Food Truck from 5-8 p.m.," Silva said. "And there will be a costume contest to dress as your favorite woman, whether it's your mom or Rosa Parks or whoever."

The Rosie the RIPA brew officially will be tapped at 3 p.m. in Lafayette on Saturday and will be tapped at the same time at the People's Revel Room in Lebanon.